Michaela Coel is on the mission in the first Netflix trailer for Black Earth Rising, a co-production between Netflix and BBC Two. The eight-episode series aired in the UK in September and October 2018.

Coel and Roseanne star John Goodman headline the series.

The limited series, created by Hugo Blick, takes place in the U.S., Africa and Europe and follows the journey of Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a Rwandan orphaned by the genocide, raised in London by an adoptive mother and trying to discover the truth of her past. She is helped in her search by lawyer Michael Ennis (John Goodman). The series examines the West’s relationship with Africa, set in a world of prosecution of war crimes.

When we reported on the story in May, Blick said his project helped him understand what the famous quote “The past isn’t dead, it isn’t even past” meant.

“I was never quite sure exactly what this famous quote meant, but by following the fictional journey of a young black British woman on an epic and deeply personal quest to bring a Rwandan genocidaire to legal justice–now I do,” he said. “And now I know just how crucial, difficult and terrifying that phrase can seem to anyone in pursuit, and denial, of international criminal justice.”

The series also stars Tamara Tunie, Danny Sapani, Aure Atika, Nyasha Hatendi, Lucian Msamati, Treva Etienne, Abena Ayivor, Kathryn Hunter, Nigel Whitmey, Richard Dixon, Paapa Essiedu and Noma Dumezweni (aka Hermione from the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).

The series hits Netflix on January 25.

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Michaela Coel Wants Justice In First Trailer For BBC-Netflix Genocide Drama Series ‘Black Earth Rising’

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